Soviet–Afghan War

E16067

The Soviet–Afghan War was a decade-long conflict (1979–1989) in which Soviet forces intervened in Afghanistan to support a communist government against Islamist guerrilla fighters, becoming a major Cold War proxy war that contributed to the USSR’s eventual collapse.

All labels observed (18)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (77)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Cold War conflict
proxy war
war
alsoKnownAs Soviet–Afghan War
surface form: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
belligerent Afghan mujahideen
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
Soviet Union
foreign volunteer fighters
cause Afghan communist government request for Soviet assistance
Saur Revolution
conflictIn Cold War
consequence contributed to dissolution of the Soviet Union
destabilization of Afghanistan
economic strain on the Soviet Union
rise of foreign jihadist networks
countryInvolved China
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
Egypt
France
India
Iran
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia
Soviet Union
United Kingdom
United States of America
surface form: United States
displacedPersons millions of Afghan refugees
endDate 1989-02-15
estimatedFatalities over 1,000,000 Afghans
over 15,000 Soviet soldiers
followedBy Afghan Civil War
surface form: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)
location Afghanistan
militaryOperation Operation Cyclone
Operation Magistral
Panjsher offensives
notableCommander Abdul Rashid Dostum
Ahmad Shah Massoud
Babrak Karmal
Boris Gromov
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Jalaluddin Haqqani
Konstantin Chernenko
Leonid Brezhnev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mohammad Najibullah
Yuri Andropov
opponent Afghan mujahideen
Harakat-i Inqilab-i Islami
Afghan mujahideen
surface form: Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin

Hizb-i Islami Khalis
Ittehad-e Islami
People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
surface form: Jamiat-e Islami

Mahaz-e Milli
precededBy Afghan Civil War
surface form: Afghan Civil War (1978–1979)
primaryAdversaryOf Afghan mujahideen
Soviet Union
result Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan
beginning of Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)
collapse of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
significantEvent Geneva Accords of 1988
Soviet–Afghan War self-linksurface differs
surface form: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979

final Soviet troop withdrawal in February 1989
startDate 1979-12-24
supportedBy Central Intelligence Agency
surface form: CIA

China
Egypt
Inter-Services Intelligence
Iran
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia
United Kingdom
United States of America
surface form: United States
supporterOf People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
theatre Central Asia
typeOfWarfare counterinsurgency
guerrilla warfare
insurgency

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (167)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Burhanuddin Rabbani conflict Soviet–Afghan War
40th Army conflict Soviet–Afghan War
40th Army notablePeriod Soviet–Afghan War
this entity surface form: Soviet intervention in Afghanistan
40th Army participatedIn Soviet–Afghan War
this entity surface form: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
Power and Principle: Memoirs of the National Security Adviser, 1977–1981 focusesOn Soviet–Afghan War
this entity surface form: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
Island of Tears memorial commemorates Soviet–Afghan War
Cold War cinema influencedBy Soviet–Afghan War
Robert Fisk coveredConflict Soviet–Afghan War
Abdul Rahim Wardak conflict Soviet–Afghan War
VMF conflict Soviet–Afghan War
Naval Infantry notableConflict Soviet–Afghan War
Soviet naval ensign usedDuring Soviet–Afghan War
Mohammad Qasim Fahim conflict Soviet–Afghan War
Asadabad historicalConflict Soviet–Afghan War
Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin conflict Soviet–Afghan War
Hamid Karzai International Airport usedDuring Soviet–Afghan War
AKM usedInConflict Soviet–Afghan War
T-62 tank usedInConflict Soviet–Afghan War
subject surface form: T-62
BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle usedInConflict Soviet–Afghan War
subject surface form: BMP-2
AK-74 conflictUsedIn Soviet–Afghan War
T-64 tank usedInConflict Soviet–Afghan War
subject surface form: T-64
Panjshir Province resisted Soviet–Afghan War
this entity surface form: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
T-80 tank usedInConflict Soviet–Afghan War
subject surface form: T-80
Yazov participantIn Soviet–Afghan War
subject surface form: Dmitry Yazov
Salang Tunnel damagedDuring Soviet–Afghan War
Soviet Colonel Zaysen commands Soviet–Afghan War
this entity surface form: Soviet military forces in Afghanistan
Soviet Colonel Zaysen conflict Soviet–Afghan War
this entity surface form: Soviet–Afghan War (fictional depiction)
Joanne Herring participatedIn Soviet–Afghan War
this entity surface form: Soviet–Afghan War (as a civilian supporter)
Tupolev Tu-143 conflict Soviet–Afghan War
Soviet Airborne Forces conflict Soviet–Afghan War
Su-17 usedInConflict Soviet–Afghan War
Flogger usedInConflict Soviet–Afghan War
Fencer usedInConflict Soviet–Afghan War
Frogfoot associatedWithConflict Soviet–Afghan War
GSh-30-2 30 mm cannon usedInConflict Soviet–Afghan War
subject surface form: GSh-30-2
The Kite Runner (novel) historicalContext Soviet–Afghan War
subject surface form: The Kite Runner
this entity surface form: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
Khaled Hosseini influencedBy Soviet–Afghan War
Amir fledDueTo Soviet–Afghan War
this entity surface form: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
Baba politicalEventExperienced Soviet–Afghan War
subject surface form: Baba (The Kite Runner film character)
this entity surface form: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
1980 State of the Union Address topic Soviet–Afghan War
Soviet 40th Army conflict Soviet–Afghan War
Soviet 40th Army notableEvent Soviet–Afghan War
this entity surface form: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
RPG-7 usedInConflict Soviet–Afghan War
PDPA governedDuring Soviet–Afghan War
subject surface form: People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
PDPA triggeredEvent Soviet–Afghan War
subject surface form: People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
this entity surface form: Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan
Thawra-ye Saur relatedEvent Soviet–Afghan War